Fine Print

Fine Print Knowledge Center

The online guide to print and design.

Introduction
A Brief History of Printing
PrePress
Planning and Strategy
Design Tips
Color Management
File Submission
Proofing
Materials and Stocks
Inks
Platemaking
Types of Printing
Offset Lithography
Digital Printing
Screen Printing
Gravure
Thermography
Flexography
Letterpress
Large Format
Specialty Printing
3D Printing
Promotional
Security Printing
Green Printing
Types of Finishes
Coatings
Binding
Folding
Scoring
Die Cutting
Embossing
Foil Stamping
Perforations

Term used in information technology for the reduction of memory space required for data by optimizing the binary notation of the information. Depending on the nature of the original data and their coding, compression ratios of 1:100 and higher can be achieved.

A distinction is made between compression methods that involve loss of information and “non-lossy” or lossless methods. Typical “lossy” methods include the JPEG format for images or the MP3 format for music clips.

Methods for compressing numerical data, such as MNP5 and V.42bis for data transmission, and compression methods for files (zip, lha, rar, etc.), are of the lossless variety.